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Ocean City
Ocean City, sometimes known as OC, or OCMD, is an Atlantic Ocean resort town in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Ocean City is widely known in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is a frequent destination for vacationers in that area. The population was 7,102 at the 2010 census, although during summer weekends the city hosts between 320,000 and 345,000 vacationers. Transportation Two bridges connect the spit to the mainland. U.S. Route 50 crosses the southern bridge connects to MD 528 at Division Street. Maryland Route 90 crosses the northern bridge and connects to MD 528 at 62nd street. Delaware Route 54 can also be used to reach the Ocean City, as it meets the Coastal Highway just north of the border. Hurricane Irene Even as the last gusts of wind from Hurricane Irene continued to blow, Ocean City was beginning the work of cleaning up from a storm that spared the island the worst of its fury. A massive Category 3 hurricane packing 115 mph winds just four days ago and headed directly for the New Jersey coastline, Irene led emergency management officials to call for a mandatory evacuation of Ocean City, the first since Hurricane Gloria in 1985. After first striking the East Coast on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Irene made a second landfall at Little Egg Inlet, about 20 miles north of Ocean City. But the highest recorded gusts of wind on instruments at 59th Street were in the 50 to 59 mph range, according to Frank Donato, Ocean City's emergency management coordinator. The storm has steadily weakened since approaching the North Carolina coast and continues to diminish as it moves into New York and southern New England on Sunday afternoon. Ocean City also benefited as the storm picked up speed on its northward march. The center of the hurricane had passed Ocean City a few hours before Sunday's high tides (8:05 a.m. at the Ninth Street Bridge). By high tide, the winds had shifted out of the northwest, pushing water from the back bays out to sea. Reported rainfall totals included six inches at Atlantic City and seven inches in Cape May. As of early Sunday afternoon, all roads and bridges into Ocean City were open and evacuated residents were streaming back into town to find homes that were spared any significant damage. Gov. Chris Christie also lifted orders that had closed southbound traffic on the Garden State Parkway. Many side streets remained flooded with fresh rainwater on Sunday morning as the high tide receded, but the flooding seemed to be limited to the low-lying streets and intersections that typically flood in any storm with heavy rainfall. The beaches appeared to be spared significant erosion. The new dune and geotube system at Waverly Beach on the north end held fast, and a small cut on the beach at Fifth Street appeared to be the only place where salt water breached the dunes. Boats and homes on the bayside lagoons also appeared to fare well -- with none showing any signs of significant damage. The island "didn't seem to lose much power, if any at all," Donato said on Sunday. "For the first full-scale mandatory evacuation in 26 years, I think it went very well," Donato said. He said the all evacuees the city transported to shelters -- approximately 200 -- were back in the city on Sunday afternoon. Some had been transported to Woodbine Developmental Center in Cape May County's Woodbine and to Cumberland County College, before those facilities were filled to capacity. Donato said the Upper Township provided room for about 80 Ocean City evacuees at Upper Township Middle School. He said he was happy to see the Community Emergency Response Team, other volunteers and several city agencies come together to execute the evacuation plan. "That part is always amazing," he said. Some of the residents who weathered the storm on the island were out early on Sunday, checking out the impact of the storm. Jerri Tomita said she watched television and drank wine in her Park Place home as the storm passed. A former resident of Key West in Florida, Tomita said she was pleased that Ocean City had been largely spared of storm damage. Tom Ashley, a resident of St. James Place, said he had cooked a dinner of pork chops and corn early on Saturday afternoon, fully expecting to lose power during the storm. But he said he slept uninterrupted through the night, with the air-conditioning running all the while. Steve Pittenger, a Fourth Street resident and Asbury Avenue merchant, said he watched a nearby intersection flood overnight, but the water never threatened his home. In an online discussion board on Ocean City Patch, residents and visitors on and off the island traded questions and answers about the storm's impact. While many commenters reported severe flooding in the streets, none appeared to lose power or to note any wind damage. The Ocean City Board of Realtors issued the following statement on Sunday afternoon: "The Ocean City Board of Realtors requests all RENTAL TENANTS that were to check in on Saturday August 27th to check with their rental offices on Monday, August 29th after 9 AM to determine when they will be able to come down." But even as things appeared to quiet down on Sunday afternoon, sudden gusts from the tail end of Hurricane Irene struck Ocean City. High winds blew the roof off Pino's Restaurant at 34th Street and Asbury Avenue. Category:Locations